Rain drops fell on this morning’s fire briefing. A red flag warning is in place for unstable conditions and abundant lightning. A low pressure system will swing into the Pacific NW today and move into central Washington on Wednesday lingering over the region through Friday. This will bring cooler temperatures, widespread showers and thunderstorms to the region for the rest of the week.

Great Basin Team 1, headed by Incident Commander Beth Lund took over management of the Little Bridge Creek, Upper Falls and Carlton Fires today at 6 a.m. The team will also coordinate fire response on all new fire starts on U.S. Forest Service, state and private lands in the Methow Valley Ranger District.

The Little Bridge Creek Fire is 10% contained. The fire, likely caused by lightning, started August 2, on National Forest lands, 10 miles west of Winthrop. Infrared data shows the fire is approximately 4,000 acres. It is located between Canyon Creek and Little Bridge Creek. Firefighters are working to keep the fire south of Thompson Ridge, out of the Wolf Creek drainage. Yesterday firefighters contained a spot fire on the back side of Thompson Ridge with the help of retardant drops. Operations personnel continue to construct indirect line between the fire and infrastructure. Structural firefighters continue to assess and prepare for structural protection efforts, should they be needed. inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4051

The Upper Falls Fire is 7,102 acres. Yesterday, helicopters continued to drop water on the west side between Falls Creek and Eight Mile Creek to delay movement of the fire down Eight Mile Ridge. Firefighters are continuing to hold the fire along Falls Creek Road and are improving indirect lines south of Alex Creek. The fire continues to move gradually north toward the Pasayten Wilderness and east toward the Farewell and Tripod fire scars. Firefighters are patrolling the fire perimeter at night to watch for hot spots that may flare up. inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/9060

The Carlton Fire is in patrol and mop up. The 256,108-acre Carlton Fire will continue to smoke and flare in the interior. If you observe a hot spot near the edge of the fire, call 911. Suppression repair work is ongoing. This includes: chipping vegetation along roads, installing water bars to minimize erosion, and covering hand and dozer lines. Firefighters are also patrolling the fire perimeter at night looking for hot spots. Inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3967

Information Officers will again be in the Twisp and Winthrop area today to provide information about the Little Bridge Creek, Carlton Complex, and Upper Falls Fires.

For the latest information on smoke and air quality go to: http://wasmoke.blogspot.com.

No structures or infrastructure are immediately threatened. No Level 2 or Level 3 evacuation notices exist for this fire. Level 1 notification remains in place for the Pine Forest and Sun Mountain areas, and for Twisp River Road above Elbow Coulee.